Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards
Interpretation
The quote highlights the hypocrisy of a nation that sees itself as diverse while still shying away from confronting racial issues.
Eric Holder's quote critiques the American identity as an ethnic melting pot, suggesting that, despite this self-image, the nation often avoids honest discussions about race and racism. By calling it a 'nation of cowards,' he implies that many people are unwilling to engage with the uncomfortable truths about racial dynamics, which ultimately hinders progress toward true equality and understanding.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of addressing racial issues in society.
While he was in the service, in the South and in Oklahoma, he was refused service at a couple of places where he was in uniform, and was told that African Americans, blacks, Negros, were not served. And in spite of that, I've never known a man who loved this country more than my father did.
Guantanamo is a chief recruiting tool for al-Qaida. It has put a wedge between the United States and at least some of its allies.
In a lot of ways, civil rights division is the conscience of the Justice Department. You can almost measure what kind of Justice Department you have by what kind of civil rights division that you have.
One of the things I learned is that you've got to deal with the underlying social problems if you want to have an impact on crime - that it's not a coincidence that you see the greatest amount of violent crime where you see the greatest amount of social dysfunction.
Those who peacefully gather to express sympathy for the family of Michael Brown must have their rights respected at all times. And journalists must not be harassed or prevented from covering a story that needs to be told.
Communities of color don't understand what it means to be a police officer, the fear that police officers have in just being on the streets.
Vice does not lose its character by becoming fashionable.
Violence is a symptom of impotence.
Only in solitude do we find ourselves; and in finding ourselves, we find in ourselves all our brothers in solitude.
I sometimes think that I enjoy suffering. But the truth is I would prefer something else.
Modern politics is, at bottom, a struggle not of men but of forces. The men become every year more and more creatures of force, massed about central powerhouses. The conflict is no longer between the men, but between the motors that drive the men, and the men tend to succumb to their own motive forces.
Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the vision of today's intellectuals than the fact that it was businessmen, devout religious leaders and Western imperialists who together destroyed slavery around the world. And if it doesn't fit their vision, it is the same to them as if it never happened.
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